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| The 12x16 oil demo I did for the group. |
This past weekend, I taught a plein air painting workshop for the Tempe Artists Guild in Arizona—but from my studio in New Mexico with a snowstorm blowing in. Zoom made it all possible, and the workshop went very well. It's an experience I'm eager to repeat.
In advance of the class, I recorded a painting demonstration outdoors plus a second segment in the studio where I improved on the painting. On the morning of the workshop, I gave a PowerPoint presentation that showed the gear I take outdoors and how I set it up. I followed this with a discussion of plein air painting fundamentals. Finally, I showed my two videos and narrated, stopping the playback now and then to elaborate or answer a question. When we broke for the afternoon painting session, I gave everyone advice on how to get started and then set them free. (Tempe, which is near Phoenix, was having much milder weather.) As students finished, they e-mailed images of their work, which I pulled through my "Photoshop mill" to show how they might be improved. At the end, I emailed the revised images to the students for their reference.
It was a great experience for me and for the students. A year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed such a thing would be possible. My preference, of course, is to teach in-person, but as long as the pandemic is with us, I will help students this way.
If your group would like me to set up a Zoom workshop like this, let me know!
And speaking of online education, you can still get a great discount on Plein Air Live! I'll be demonstrating in gouache on Beginner's Day. You can find out more here.
